Box-seal.



PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

. G. F. EDGINGTON.

BOX SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED MA-R. 28,1907.

George E'Edgirzgian,

//\ 'VEN TOR A TTOR/VE Y5 GEORGE FRANCIS EDGINGTON, OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA.

BOX-SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1908.

Application filed March 28 1907. Serial No. 365.125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE FRANCIS EDGINGTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Je'lfersonville, in the county of Clark and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Box-Seal, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improve ments in seals of the character adapted to be applied to boxes, shipping cases, and the like,

and it has for its object to provide an improved device of this character that may be readily applied to a box or case and when sealed prevents unauthorized opening of the box or case without detection, so that the contents of the box or case are insured from inferior substitution or theft, the seal being associated with a box fastening device so that the number of parts to be handled is not increased.

To these and other ends, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be more fully described hereinafter, and set forth particularly in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 preferably associated with one of the fastening devices or nails of the box or case to be sealed. The sealing head is composed, preferably, of a relatively soft material, the shape of the head shown enabling it to be formed of lead, tin, or other soft metal that is capable of being easily molded and impressed with a suitable seal.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the sealing head is cast about the head of a nail 3, the nail being adapted to serve as one of the fastenings of the box or case, the head shown in the present instance having a substantially hemi-spherical top 4, a reduced portion or neck 5, and a flange or shoulder 6 arranged parallel to the lower surface of the top portion and forming a groove between them that extends circumferentially of the head, the flange or shoulder portion of the head being preferably relatively light or thin in order that it may be easily compressed toward the top of the head by reason of the resistance of the material of the box or case when the nail is driven therein.

The seal is applied to a box or case by forming a bore in the cooperating portions of two or more of the box sections, it being preferable generally to drill or otherwise form the bore or opening with its axis extending diagonally across one of the box corners so as to pass through both of the adjoining sections. The nail having the sealing head thereon is driven into the box corner in the usual manner at a point adjacent to the bore, the sealing strip or wire 1 having been previously passed through the bore with both ends projecting therefrom, the nail being driven until the shoulder 6 thereon engages the surface of the corresponding box section. The ends of the sealing strip or wire are then wrapped around the sealing head within the circumferential groove formed thereon between the shoulder and the top, and with the ends of the sealing strip thus wrapped, the nail or fastening device is driven further into the box or case, or sufficiently far to spread the sealing material over the convolutions of the wire, or to compress them between the flange or shoulder 6 and the top 4, so that they cannot be unwound or removed without destroying or altering the appearance of the head, and in order to effectually prevent removal of the ends of the sealing strip from the sealing head, it is preferable to give the latter one or more strokes under a die having a suitable inscription or other form that will be transferred to the sealing head, so that in order to unfasten the seal it would be necessary to obliterate or alter the impression, and thus insure immediate detection on receipt of the box or case. Of course, in opening the box, it is only necessary to sever the sealing strip connecting the box sections by means of an ordinary wire cutter.

A sealing device of the character described may be readily applied to boxes or cases wherein it is desirable or necessary to insure 'the contents from theft or tampering, as in its preferred form it is formed as a part of the nail or other fastening device, and, consequently, is easily applied as one of the box fastenings, and as the sealing strip or wire extends through portions of both of the abutting sections and its ends are sealed by the relatively soft head, removal of the wire cannot be accomplished without altering the shape or im ression of the sealing head, and, of course, t at would lead to immediate detection.

What is claimed is:

1. A seal of the character described embodying a strip adapted to cooperate with adjacent box sections, and a head composed 'of relatively soft material provided with a top and a parallel flange below it forming a circumferential groove adapted to receive the ends of the strip, and a part permanently associated with the head for securing it to a box or the like.

2. A seal of the character described embodying a nail adapted to be driven into a box, a strip adapted to cooperate with the adjacent sections of said box, and a sealing head embodying a reduced neck portion surrounding the nail, and a top and an axially compressible flange for receiving and incasing the ends of the strip.

3. A seal of the character described embodying a flexible strip adapted to cooperate with adjacent sections of a box, a nail adapted to be driven into the box, and a head on the nail composed of relatively soft material and adapted to have its ends wrapped about the neck portion and between the compressible portions of the head.

5. A seal of the character described embodying a nail having a relatively soft head on its upper end, the latter being provided with a relatively large top and a circumferential flange spaced below it, and a narrow neck portion connecting the flange and top portion of the head, and a wire extending through a diagonal opening in the adjacent sections of a box corner, the ends of the wire being coiled about the said neck portion to form convolutions lying between the top and flange portions of the head, the latter being compressed to confine the convolutions of the wire between them.

6. A seal of the character described embodying a nail provided with a head of relatively soft metal on the upper end thereof having a hemi-spherical top, a reduced neck portion, and a relatively thin circumferential flange spaced below the top of the head, a box having an opening extending diagonally through a corner thereof, and a flexible Wire threaded through said opening, the ends of the wire being brought together and coiled about the'neck portion of the head between the top and flange, the latter being compressed axially to embed the convolutions of the Wire ends between the flange and top, the latter being provided with a sealing impression.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE FRANCIS EDGINGTON. Witnesses:

WM. P. SCHOENMETZLER, JAMES R. KELLY. 

